


why kai shouldn't post first drafts

by Lokislittlearmy



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Akuma Possession, Cat Puns, Developing Relationship, Established Relationship, Excessive Use of Cat Puns as a Plot Device, Multi, Mutual Pining, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Polyamory, Relationship(s), pre-identity reveal
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-15
Updated: 2017-03-15
Packaged: 2018-10-05 18:47:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,338
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10314647
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lokislittlearmy/pseuds/Lokislittlearmy
Summary: Nathanael feels bad about his time as Dessinateur, and Chat Noir wants to help him. It's just that Chat Noir gets a little more information than Adrien needed to know. Including Nathanael's crush on two of his classmates.Those two classmates are already dating each other. But Nathanael doesn't believe three's a crowd.(This fic is discontinued and obsolete; a similar but better one will be published shortly!)





	

**Author's Note:**

> The description feels so short because it's a different format than what I'm used to.  
> Anyway, I hope you enjoy!
> 
> [[or skip to the end for notes]]

Adrien and Marinette both managed to slip away near the beginning of the conversation. Neither of them managed to piece together why the other was moving away. But that’s to be expected with them. They sat out in the hall, Marinette tapping her toe against thin air as she tried to think of a conversation starter. Luckily, Adrien was much better at that than she was.

“So, akumas.”

Okay, slightly better than she was. Marinette nodded. “Akumas.”

Adrien looked down at his folded hands. He could almost feel Plagg laughing from his book bag. His girlfriend (albeit new girlfriend) was sitting next to him and he couldn’t think of anything to say. He looked around the back hall as if the answer was written somewhere. “Do you ever wonder what yours would look like?”

Marinette shrugged. “It depends on the situation, doesn’t it?”

“Sometimes, yeah. But it could be the same no matter what. Like, I doubt Nathanael’s would have changed that much.” 

“You think so?” she responded. “I mean, that all stemmed from the incident with his drawings.” If she remembered what the drawings were of, she didn’t mention them.

“Sure, but if he’d been in a position like, say, Kim, and confessed to and been rejected by his crush, he still would have turned into the Dessinateur.”

Marinette wrinkled her nose, hand inching closer to take his. “I like to think I’m a better person than Chloe.”

Adrien squeezed her hand. A quiet laugh escaped his lips before he could catch it. “Point remains, though. Nathanael is the Dessinateur, Nino is the Bubbler, and akuma designs are directly linked to the person it’s possessing.”

As the two had this conversation, Nathanael had gotten increasingly frustrated with the conversation in the classroom. His classmates were fawning over their akumas as if they were heroes. He excused himself as quietly as possible and stopped at the corner of the hallway. He heard Adrien say his name, and his akuma’s name, and his blood ran cold.

Marinette groaned. “Fine. You’re right. I still say that, under different circumstances, he would have had a different akuma.”

“Like?”

“Like...” Marinette’s face screwed up as she struggled to think of a scenario. “This doesn’t extend to just Nathanael, right? It’s the same for Nino.” A breath of relief ran through Nathanael. It wasn’t just him. Marinette continued on, probably using exaggerated gestures as she always did. “If Nino was the one to lose on that Challenge show, he would have had a design to do with being a DJ.”

“Judging by Jackady, he would have had an equally horrible design, but I do see where you’re coming from.” Adrien shifted closer to Marinette. Nathanael slumped down against the wall, around the corner.

Marinette nodded in agreement. “It’s hit or miss with Papillon’s designs, I have to admit. Like, Reflekta looked cool. And Pixelator, and Lady Wifi looked nice. But then you see things like Mister Pigeon and the Bubbler and wonder what was going through his mind.”

“I know we’re not talking about him anymore, but Dessinateur’s design is my favorite.”

“Papillon didn’t even design Dessinateur,” Marinette said through building laughter. “That was Nathanael. He was going to be a hero.” Adrien groaned as he realized Marinette was right, that Papillon was just horrible at designing his villains. Once Marinette’s laughter died down, she sighed. “I think Dessinateur was my favorite villain overall. Like, he didn’t even want to hurt anyone. He just wanted a nice date. That was adorable.”

“Until he tried to drown you and Chat Noir,” Adrien reminded her.

“Details.”

Adrien laughed. Around the corner, Nathanael had begun to blush to the color of his hair. Objectively speaking, the villains in general weren’t good, and choosing a favorite was simply choosing the lesser evil. Even so, the idea that the Dessinateur was Adrien’s favorite design and Marinette’s favorite overall sent Nathanael reeling.

Marinette had rested her head on Adrien’s shoulder, and he’d stopped laughing by the time she continued. “He’s a sweet guy, though. He wouldn’t hurt a fly as long as it’s his choice.”

“Yeah.” Adrien paused. “Copycat is my favorite though.”

“That’s because you’re Chat Noir trash.”

“Excuse you.” There was the sound of fabric shifting as Marinette sat up. Adrien put his free hand to his chest. “I am only the finest Ladybug trash. Truly the cream of the crop.”

“Oh, right,” Marinette laughed, “I forgot to take into account all the merchandise you have. Even though you make cat puns, like, every five minutes.”

“You make it seem like a _cat_ astrophe.”

Marinette stood. Nathanael did as well, ready to bolt. She brushed herself off. “I’m breaking up with you.”

Adrien didn’t stand, only latched onto her leg and managed to get out through giggles, “No, my Lady-”

“No. This is the final straw. I can’t take it anymore.”

There was a long pause before Adrien said, in a quiet voice, “Would you _paws_ to think about what you’re doing?” Hardly a second passed before he fake-cried out, “Nooooooooooo.”

Nathanael started to step away as slowly and quietly as possible. Marinette was going to come around that corner if Adrien made one more cat pun. He could focus on what all those puns meant in a second. Once he’d gotten away.

Marinette dragged him about a foot away. “You’re the worst person I’ve ever met.”

“You mean the worst _purr_ son?”

And there was his cue. Nathanael bolted and managed to get around the next corner (hopefully believably out of earshot) before Marinette came storming past. Her anger held no real venom as she spun around just before the corner, fighting a smile. Adrien chased after her, not even bothering to hide his laughter.

Nathanael continued to slip away. Once he was away, he slumped against the wall and opened his sketchbook. He hadn’t drawn the Dessinateur since everything that had happened, his efforts refocused to Ladybug and Chat Noir. The last time he’d drawn the concept was the half-finished sketch of the Dessinateur catching Marinette. Looking back on the crossed-out drawing, he had to hold back a cringe.

He flipped pages past that to the first blank spread and started sketching. At first, it was only a blank figure. It saluted the camera with one hand, the other propping him up against thin air. Its legs were crossed toward the viewer as he sat. Its head was tilted just slightly to the viewer, enough to see both eyes but not as if it was looking head-on.

Then he started filling in the details. Drawing stripes along the ribcage darting around a circle in the center and wrapping around the arms. Putting a rectangular tablet on the back of the arm that saluted and a pen between two of the fingers of the hand holding the figure up. A smirk and a wink and a mask around the eyes, sans the bottom of the butterfly wings. Messy hair with darker tips, and a beret to top it all off.

Not wanting the ruined hero to be alone, he drew Ladybug and Chat Noir beside him. The movements came more easily, having drawn the two so many times before. Ladybug sat back to the Dessinateur, head bowed. Her fingers saluted the camera in a mirror image, but her smile was sweeter. Chat Noir was sat behind them with a leg over Ladybug’s lap and head behind hers, grinning at the imaginary camera. His arms wrapped around the others’ chests, hands on their opposite shoulders.

On the next page, he started doodling aimlessly. Three figures holding hands, curled tightly together. He let his mind drift as he filled in the details. When he refocused on the drawing, the details were still only half-filled. But he’d given the middle figure his own hairstyle, the one on the left a dark cardigan, and the one on the right stripes along his shirt.

He stared down at the page for a few seconds. That was...definitely him. He could deny that the one on the left was Marinette as long as she didn’t have pigtails. And plenty of shirts had stripes on them. Less had five in the exact same position as Adrien’s, but still enough to deny. Besides, even if he was willing to admit it to himself, the entire idea of drawing himself between the two like this was awful. If they knew, they would….probably not do much. They were too nice to devalue his confidence. But still!

He closed his sketchbook and stood up. He would say something about fresh air, but he was already in the courtyard. Already outside. He took a deep breath. There was no way he would get a crush on either of them (again), let alone both of them.

With this in mind, he leaned up against the wall and opened his sketchbook. No sooner had he done so than Marinette ran into the courtyard, Adrien hot on her heels. “Marinette, please, I-” He cut off in a fit of giggles, wiping tears of laughter from his eyes. “I’m sorry.”

“Are you really?” she asked with a grin on her face.

Adrien laughed again. “Not really.”

Marinette rolled her eyes, the grin finally crossing her face again. “You’re really...bugging me.”

Adrien’s laughter cut off abruptly into a gasp so loud that it nearly hurt his throat. He ran up to Marinette and threw his arms around her, grinning from ear to ear. “My Lady made a pun! I’m rubbing off on her! It’s happening!” He stopped as they spun, meeting Nathanael’s wide yet amused eyes. He let go of Marinette. “Hey, Nath!”

Marinette spun around but kept one of Adrien’s arms around her shoulders as they approached him. “What are you drawing?” she asked, cheeks still flushed.

Nathanael hesitated. He definitely couldn’t show them the page on the right, but the left…Well, that was a different story. He flipped the right page out of view and showed them the left page. “It was just something I sketched to make myself feel better.” It wasn’t really a lie. 

Marinette’s smile faded away. “Hey, we never really talked about that, did we?”

The artist closed his sketchbook and clutched it to his chest. His eyes darted to Adrien before pointing to the floor. “It’s okay. I’m over it.” Now, that was a lie. Kind of. He was over what had happened, and he was in denial over the crush he still had.

“Still, though, I feel like we should have talked about that instead of just sweeping under the rug.” Marinette folded her hands in front of her as she talked. Adrien looked like he wasn’t sure if he should leave or stay.

“Really, it’s fine.” Nathanael shrugged. “I don’t remember a lot of it anyway.”

Adrien decided to jump in, the arm around Marinette’s shoulders tightening as he smiled. “You took Marinette on a date, and it was actually a really nice setting. From what I heard, at least.”

Marinette nodded, smile returning to her face. “It was on a boat, and we just rode and there was music and moonlight and-” She cut off. “It was nice.”

Nathanael narrowed his eyes. “I tried to drown you.”

She shrugged. “I didn’t die. And besides, I got out of it just fine.”

Adrien looked down to her. “Because you had Chat Noir with you.”

“I’ll tell you about that later.”

##

Later happened to be that evening, as Marinette was watering her plants. Chat climbed to her fence and rested in a crouch. “Penny for your thoughts, _purr_ incess?”

Marinette set her watering can down. “I’ll sell them for a _paw_ llar.”

“Weak, 4 out of 10, would not recommend.” Chat took the pun as an invitation to hop fully onto her balcony. “Really, though, what’s on your mind?”

Neither could really remember how they became friends, but Marinette swears it had something to do with cookies on the terrace. But since then, Chat had hung around Marinette more and more. And for Chat, that had blossomed into a crush on his good friend. It didn’t quite have the same effect on Marinette, but Ladybug was used to Chat’s flirting and obvious attempts. Chat Noir was not used to Marinette’s venting about Adrien and how she couldn’t even talk to him. He found it quite endearing. 

It was even more endearing to see how happy she was when Adrien asked her out. 

Now, Marinette crossed her arms and leaned against the fence. “There’s this boy at my school. He was the Dessinateur. And I never talked to him after everything that happened. He says it’s okay, but I feel like it isn’t. Like he still feels bad about it.”

Chat pursed his lips. Of course she would worry over him. “I doubt he even remembers what happened.”

“He doesn’t need to remember. Things still happen, people still see and record. Whether he remembers or not, he can still be reminded.” Marinette frowned further. “He’s probably one of the nicest akumas so far. All he did was take his crush on a date.”

A realization struck Chat, though he tried to hide it. “Maybe...he still has a crush on you, and doesn’t want to worry you.”

Marinette worried at her bottom lip. “I don’t know. Maybe. He’s quiet. I don’t think I would know if I even tried to figure it out. I’m not the most observant person.” Chat Noir didn’t laugh, but he had to keep himself from doing so. Marinette continued. “And even if he did, I don’t know what I would do. I’m already dating Adrien, and I highly doubt he’s polyamorous.”

Chat paused. He tilted his head. “Polyamorous?”

“Like, willing to date more than one person at a time, or let your partner do that.” Marinette kicked at a piece of fallen dirt. “I don’t know if I would do that, either, though.”

The two of them sat in silence for a few seconds while Chat processed the new word. Would he be willing to do that? To add Nathanael into his relationship? He would have to think about it. A lot. He focused on the top of Marinette’s roof. “You said he was upset about the Dessinateur, right? Maybe it would help if I went to see him.”

And that was the idea Chat carried with him as he soared a few blocks down. He landed on Nathanael’s roof and found he had to take a few breaths to calm himself before peeking down. He blamed that on how he’d just been running, even though he’d climbed the Eiffel Tower before without breaking a sweat. He looked down through the window, his view upside down.

Nathanael sat at a desk below the window, pencil scratching across a large sheet of paper. He’d taken off his cardigan. Chat thought the symbol on his t-shirt looked familiar, but that might be from seeing it at school. He shook the notion away and knocked at the window.

To his credit, Nathanael didn’t scream when he saw Chat Noir hanging from his roof and staring at him through his bedroom window. He did, however, freeze. Chat waved awkwardly, anxious grin spreading across his face. Nathanael reached forward and opened the panel Chat was in front of. “Um...Hi,” he greeted.

Chat waved again. “Hey. I’m Chat Noir. You’re Nathanael, right?”

Nathanael blinked in shock. “Yeah.”

“Can...can I come in? The blood is starting to rush to my head.” He waited for Nathanael to move papers out of the way before swinging in and landing on the floor. The walls of the small room were decorated with drawings of all sorts, most if not all done by Nathanael himself. “Nice room.”

“Thanks,” Nathanael said as he shut the window. “Can I ask why you’re here? Not that I’m complaining or anything-”

“Oh, of course.” Chat stepped toward the boy. “I was talking to a friend of yours, and she believes you might still be upset about your time as an akuma. So I thought I would come and talk to you.”

Nathanael sat on the stool at his desk. He waited for Chat to sit cross-legged in front of him, staring attentively. It had to be Marinette that Chat Noir was talking about, and he chose to at least put _Marinette knows Chat Noir_ on his list of things to think about later. “I can’t really remember it, so there’s not much to be upset about. It all feels like some convoluted dream. I feel bad about what I did, like trying to drown you—sorry about that, by the way.”

“No offense taken.”

“But it’s hard to put everything into words.” He looked to the sketchbook laid on his desk. The one he’d been drawing in earlier. “Dessinateur was who I wanted to be, and now he’s everything I hate.”

Everything clicked into place for Chat Noir. That drawing with Dessinateur was him trying to reclaim the idea for himself. Chat leaned forward, folding his hands together as he did so. “It wasn’t all bad. You were sweet to Marinette. You kept your promise.”

Nathanael let his shoulders come up. “And if I didn’t have a crush on her, I wouldn’t have done that.” Though, he probably shouldn’t talk about his crush to a person who probably knew her.

“Regardless,” Chat Noir disputed, “You still did it. It took you a while to get around to the whole Miraculous-stealing thing. It would’ve taken you longer if I hadn’t shown up. And it’s not like what you were doing before was bad. You just took Marinette on a date.”

He only seemed to shrink in more to that, a blush crawling up his face. “As if she would have accepted if it wasn’t a literal villain asking her.”

Chat Noir felt the question he could ask on the tip of his tongue, but it still took a little force to get it out. “Do you still have a crush on her?”

“It doesn’t matter,” Nathanael replied almost immediately. “She’s dating Adrien.”

He put enough emphasis on the name that it took Chat Noir back a mental step. He straightened up. “Why the emphasis?”

“Adrien Agreste,” Nathanael tried clarifying. “A classmate of ours. Super hot model that I could never hope to compare with.”

Mask or no mask, there was no hiding the blush that appeared on Adrien’s face. He was used to compliments, but something about Nathanael calling him a _super hot model_ stirred some emotion in Chat. Later, he would realize that he was flustered, and that Plagg was laughing throughout the remainder of the conversation. For now, he ducked his head a little in a futile attempt to hide the red of his face. “He can’t be that great.”

Nathanael made a noise that was not quite a laugh. “Almost everyone in our class who likes guys has had a crush on him at one point or another. Honestly, I thought I was an exception.”

“Thought? Past tense?”

The boy hesitated, then sighed. “No point in dwelling on it. I wouldn’t want to get akumatized again.” He tried for a laugh, but it came out completely fake. “Besides, they’re both happy with each other. I wouldn’t want to get in their way.”

Chat didn’t know what to say to that. Nathanael had all but admitted to having a crush on both him and his girlfriend, even if he didn’t know who he was admitting it to. He absolutely couldn’t tell Marinette about this, because that would give away his identity. He dug for the right thing to say to the kid and started to wonder if there was one. What would the Chat the public knew say? Better yet, what would Chat according to Ladybug say?

“Well, I’d give you my best flirting tips, but I guess they wouldn’t really help.” He shot Nathanael a teasing smile.

The artist responded with a smile of his own. “I guess not.”

**Author's Note:**

> Come bother me with ideas and such: pixellite16.tumblr.com
> 
> EDIT: Before you comment, please read:   
> I'm currently in the process of re-writing this. Multiple times longer and hopefully leagues better. I didn't want to orphan this work, so instead I'm turning it into a little lesson on why I shouldn't post first drafts. So I'll post the *actual* first chapter whenever I finish it, and I hope you subscribe to that when it comes out. I'm possibly changing the name too, and I have a couple different things with plot I want to mess around with. But we'll see about that. Thanks for reading this mess anyway!


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